The Good Son
by T. Alana M
Summary: When Darth Vader's ship crashes on Tatooine, he makes a discovery that would change the fate of the galaxy. Raised as Luke Vader, will Luke still grow to become the hero of the Rebellion? Or will he succumb to the darkness, like his father before him? Meanwhile, Vader himself has to deal with the fact that Anakin isn't quite dead. Cover art by BrET13. Updates every weekend.
1. Chapter 1, Tatooine

_When Darth Vader's ship crashes on Tatooine, he makes a discovery that would change the fate of the galaxy. Raised as Luke Vader, will Luke still grow to become the hero of the Rebellion? Or will he succumb to the darkness, like his father before him? Meanwhile, Vader himself has to deal with the fact that Anakin isn't quite dead. Betaed by Scifiromance. Formerly entitled 'Never A Good Son'_

**Special thanks to my beta reader, Scifiromance. :D**

**Slight humor, rated T for mentions of violence and sex in later chapters**

* * *

There were times when Darth Vader thought that Anakin Skywalker was not nearly as dead as he should be.

Of course, disposing of Skywalker was considerably difficult than killing anyone else, for the sole reason that Skywalker probably still lived somewhere inside his head. When he had slaughtered the younglings and pledged himself to Palpatine, he was certain that he had left that impulsive, whiny, weak persona behind. He became Darth Vader, a Sith Lord and the most feared person in the universe. The Hero Without Fear had perished with the rest of the Jedi.

But there were those rare moments when Vader did something decidedly un-Sith-Lord-like, something so incredibly impulsive and foolish that it could only be blamed on his old self, Skywalker.

Vader was a pragmatic, no-nonsense man who had the patience to meditate for hours on end and who usually _thought things through. _Skywalker, on the other hand, was an impulsive imbecile who would do the most nonsensical things to relieve his boredom, that usually lead to the most uncomfortable of situations.

Situations like being stranded on Tatooine, for instance.

He blamed this entirely on Skywalker. Vader had been reading through a pile of extremely dull reports- - -Senatorial meeting, blah, blah, resistance, blah, blah, Death Star schematics, yawn- - -when something had piqued his interest. Ironically, it was only a footnote on what was most likely the least important piece of information in that stack, saying only that a hermit that could do 'strange things' lived on Tatooine.

He absolutely hated the old dustball. It was where he had lived as a slave, where his mother had been killed by Tusken Raiders, and...basically where everything bad short of Mustafar happened. Odd that such a backwater planet would hold so many key events, but the point was, he hated it. So he should instead stay on this ship, the newly built _Executor, _and continue shifting through the pile of datapads._  
_

_...why the nine hells would I want to do that? This is boring.  
_

The petulant, not-quite-there voice seemed entirely too sulky for something Vader would think, therefore he deduced that it was the remnants of Skywalker and tried to rationalize this decision, even as he ordered the navigator to set a course to the Outer Rim. He eventually came up with the idea that the hermit might be Force-sensitive, and therefore should be eliminated. It had nothing to do with the crushing boredom he felt or that annoying voice whining in the back of his mind. As for the reason he felt that he should go there alone, well, his crew was starting to annoy him with their incompetency and it wouldn't do to throttle them all. It was certainly not because he wanted to temporarily escape the responsibility of being a general or anything of the sort.

Once they were in the Outer Rim, he had privately ordered Admiral Ozzel to command the ship until further notice. He then snuck into one of the many Lambda shuttles available on the Executor, and blasted off to Tatooine.

Of course, something just had to go wrong.

* * *

Owen Lars's nephew had just turned four.

He frowned as the pudgy hand reached for the blue domed head. Luke had specifically asked for a droid to tinker with for his birthday, pleading with large teary eyes. Against his better judgement, Owen had brought Luke along to choose one from an old junk shop owned by a Toydarian. The toddler picked a small R2 unit that kept beeping incessantly. Owen felt his gut churn for some reason he couldn't identify; the droid seemed familiar somehow, and not in a good way.

He normally wouldn't have listened to the boy. It wouldn't do to spoil him after all. But the shopkeeper was selling it cheap- - -Owen suspected there was more of a story there, as Toydarians were notorious for their stinginess, and this particular one kept staring at Luke somewhat fondly- - -and a droid would be good to help around the farm. He figured that he could keep his nephew from sulking _and _get an astromech droid to repair the things that regularly broke down on his farm. It was a win-win situation.

There was something about this particular unit, though, that gave him a bad feeling. The kind of feeling that Owen normally got when Luke used that Force-thing his father was once famous for. Owen didn't have anything against his stepbrother; didn't know him well enough to like or dislike him. It was the Force-thing that made him grit his teeth. It wasn't _natural, _being able to talk in people's heads and move things without even touching them. People could get hurt.

Anakin had hurt people.

_(I killed them- -I killed them all!)_

He sighed at the thought of his absent stepbrother, blocking the harsh memory and shifting his thoughts to a different track. Owen had not known him well, but he had heard all the stories. The Hero Without Fear, the Chosen One, greatest pilot in the universe, Tatooine's best mechanic.

Imperial soldier extraordinaire.

Now Kenobi hadn't exactly _told _him that. The former Jedi Master had just dropped Luke on his doorstep, told him that Anakin hadn't known about his birth prior to the man's death, and to keep Anakin's son away from the Empire. Which was a difficult thing to do if you _lived _in the Empire, even on an Outer Rim planet, so Owen thought that Kenobi was two steps away from senility. So he had suspiciously asked the hermit why Luke needed to be kept away from what was basically 99% of the universe. The answer had been awkward and shifty (_-He can't know about- Well, it's- -Ana- -I mean, someone might take Luke and- -ah-) _, but it wasn't exactly subtle, and Owen got the gist of it.

Anakin was well and very much alive. He was also working for the Empire.

Owen wasn't sure why this was a bad thing, really. He didn't have any fondness for the Empire, but he didn't hate it either. Kenobi wouldn't budge, however, and any efforts Owen made to find information on his absent stepbrother always led to a dead end. He made sure to search for high-ranking members, because _of course _Anakin would be successful; the man oozed talent, even when he had been a slave. None of the Imperial generals matched his description, though. It looked like he would get to keep his nephew for a while longer.

"Artoo!"

Owen whirled on his nephew to see the boy reaching out for a disappearing astromech unit.

"Why is it running away?" He demanded, glaring at the shopkeeper. The Toydarian scratched his head.

"Unnnh, it's never done thatuh before."

"You tried to sell us a defective droid?!" he snapped, grabbing his nephew's shoulder to keep him from running after the unit.

"I didn't know it was broken, hmmm," the Toydarian said. "Ituh seemed fine when the Jawas brought it in."

"Well, it's broken _now, _so we're not paying for it. Do you have any other droids?"

"Let me lookuh." the alien fluttered to the back of the store.

Annoyed, Owen leaned back against the door frame, crossing his arms with a scowl. He glanced down at the blond toddler, whose eyes were already starting to fill with tears, and his frown grew deeper. With nothing better to do, the moisture farmer glanced at the roads outside. There seemed to be some sort of commotion. He felt wariness spike up as he watched shopkeepers and customers alike run for their speeders or barricade their doors.

The source of disturbance was revealed when R2-D2 came rolling back at a frenzied pace, shrieking in alarm.

Hot on the droid's heels was the Empire's second in command, Darth Vader.

* * *

The trouble started when the engines started to malfunction, making the ship wobble dangerously in mid-space. If Vader wasn't such an excellent pilot, he'd have been smushed into chunks of black armor several times over. As it was, he had already had several close calls with asteroids and meteors, fortunately arriving in the planet's atmosphere relatively unscathed.

Once he was in the atmosphere though, he felt a searing hot pain akin to Mustafar, and realized that his ship, upon entering the ozone layer, had caught on fire.

_...Well, Sith._

It took him a moment to realize that he had just insulted himself.

He utilized all the piloting skills he had learned, along with a few improvised moves, and miraculously managed to arrive on the planet alive. Sand burst in a shower of gold as he crash landed on the desert planet.

_Another happy landing, _he thought sarcastically, climbing out of the totaled ship. He glared at the melted, broken hunk of metal. It should not have malfunctioned. Obviously, one of his soldiers had fancied himself a mechanic, and tried to make 'improvements' on the shuttle. If Vader ever found out who it was, he would design a brand new torture droid just for that imbecile of a pilot.

Fuming, the Anakin side took over and he kicked the shuttle uselessly. Slightly more rational now, he surveyed the area. There was sand, sand, sand...Oh look, more sand.

He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself enough to think. This was Tatooine. No matter how much he hated it, he still knew it like the back of his prosthetic. He looked around, noting the distinct land marks. If he remembered correctly, Mos Eisley was half an hour away.

Cursing Kenobi, the twin suns, and his black heat-absorbing suit, Vader trudged towards the town.

* * *

Mos Eisley was indeed half an hour away. By speeder. By foot, it took two hours. Vader was hot, thirsty and tired.

He finally arrived in the ramshackle town, not caring that people screamed and ran away at the sight of him, or that he would have to explain to the Emperor why he was even on Tatooine. He was seriously considering to tell Palpatine to go to hell one of these days, but maybe that would wait until he located the kill switch in his life support.

_Boop-Beep. Master Anakin?_

He froze, staring at the small astromech droid that had rolled up to him. "R2-D2?"

The droid beeped in alarm, apologizing about a case of mistaken identity, and rolled away hurriedly.

Perhaps the heat was getting to him, because it didn't occur to him to use the Force to pick up Artoo. What did occur to him was to run after the little droid, yelling, "Wait!"

Had he been in top condition, he would have caught up to the unit in no time. As it was, was exhausted, his suit was most likely malfunctioning after the fall and sand had gotten into the joints of his prosthetics. He was also whining a lot, but he figured that considering the circumstances, it was justified.

The frightened droid led him on a merry chase to the familiar areas of Watto's junkshop. He barely noticed the man he barreled into, who actually looked a lot like- -

"Cliegg Lars?"

The man didn't seem to recognize him, instead staring at him with wide, frightened eyes. Which was to be expected, he reflected.

He stood there and waited for the other man to answer.

Or at least recover from what looked to be a spontaneous stroke.

Behind the moisture farmer's legs, a small blond head peeked out. Giggling, the boy toddled away from his guardian, who was still too frozen with fear to notice, and grabbed a handful of Vader's black cloak.

"Hi," he said, grinning. "I'm Luke. And tha's my uncle Owen." he pointed at the man who was apparently his stepbrother, not his stepfather. "You look like a droid, mister."

Vader tilted his head.

* * *

_How the kriffing hell does _Darth Vader_ know my old man's name?_

Owen tried to push Luke behind him, only for his hand to meet nothing but air. He glanced at the ground, spotting the trail of tiny sandy footprints. Very slowly, he followed them with his eyes and located his nephew.

Who was clinging to Vader's cloak.

The moisture farmer felt his heart stop.

"Luke!" he hissed, taking a half-step towards the boy. "Luke, get back here!"

Anakin's son turned to him with a bright smile, "I change my mind, Uncle Owen!" he tightened his grip on the black material, and to Owen's utter horror, exclaimed, "_This _is the droid I wan'!"

* * *

**What did you think? R&R please! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Special thanks to VampiricBloOdyRose, Guest 1, JediKnightKat, Guest 2, Fireshifter, Firecadet (don't worry, I'll revise the TIE part), Mike, Hildr, DragonsFlame117, Murlily (I'll revise the seizure part too), Nangijala, Lule De Zodiak, and QueenNaberrie.**

******ILDV, Mike 3207, Jedi Knight Kat, Firecadet, DragonsFlame117, Queen Naberrie, Lule de Zodiak, Lucillia, Taboo22, and liamj128. **Plus everyone who followed or favorited.

**Extra special thanks to my beta, Scifiromance.**

**Disclaimer; I am not George Lucas. Do I look rich to you? *turns out empty pockets*  
**

* * *

_Droid?_

Perhaps if the twin suns and that frying pan of a helmet hadn't temporarily killed whatever brain cells he hadn't fried on Mustafar, or if the Anakin side of him hadn't been taking over for the whole day, he would have been angry enough to throttle the boy. As it was, he only felt mildly indignant and amused. Mostly amused.

"Please, uncle Owen! I'll take care of 'im real good! I'll fix 'im when he gets broken an' take 'im on walks an' stuff- -"

_Does he think I'm some Correllian hound as well? _"I am not a droid," he cut the boy off. "I am Darth Vader."

Small eyebrows furrowed, and Vader suddenly realized the boy was Force sensitive. Mainly because of the onslaught of thoughts that attacked his mental shields. _What's a Vader droid? It sounds cool. Why does he have two names? I have two names too, but Uncle Owen said droids only have one desi-desgin- code thingy. Do I need to tell him two names too? I guess it would be rude if I didn't._

The boy grinned up at him. "I'm Luke Skywalker."

There was a very long pause as both sides of Vader and Anakin tried to absorb that information. The gears in his head turned with painful slowness, before they finally processed the child's words. Then, perhaps a bit late, came the outburst.

"YOU'RE WHAT?!" Vader leaned down and grabbed the startled toddler by his shoulders. "_What _was that name?! In what way are you related to _Anakin _Skywalker?"

Skywalker wasn't a common name. Even if someone bore the same surname somewhere in the galaxy, the chances that they'd end up with his stepbrother unless they were related to _him _were slim.

The boy tugged weakly on his gloves. "Mister droid, you're scaring me..."

In a sudden moment of courage, Owen stepped forward and trained his blaster on Vader. "Let go of him, you kriffing Sith- -!"

He waved his hand and the blaster flew out of Owen's grip. The moisture farmer paled.

"I am going to ask this once," the Sith advanced menacingly. "What relation does that boy have with Anakin Skywalker?"

Owen opened his mouth angrily, most likely to declare along the something along the lines of, _No way in hell will I tell you anything. _But Luke beat him to it.

"Anakin Skywalker's my daddy! Old Ben said so!"

Vader, to his credit, took the news with the stoicism of a soldier. In fact, he seemed completely frozen in place.

"Mister droid, are you okay?"

* * *

Owen tried to console his horrified wife, who was hyperventilating at the moment.

"Wh-how-but- -"

"I know, I know," he soothed, rubbing her arm. "I was surprised too."

He glanced at Vader out of the corner of his eye. _Ana__kin's dead, my ass. Damn that Kenobi. _

Owen remembered searching for his stepbrother among high-ranked Imperials, and hitting dead ends over and over.

_I guess I just wasn't looking high enough._

"Dad? Can I bring my bantha toy?"

"Of course, Luke."

He sighed. He would miss the boy, and so would his wife once she had calmed down enough to process everything.

He briefly wondered what Kenobi would think, but since this was all the old lunatic's fault anyway, Owen wouldn't even bother trying to contact him about Vader taking Luke. Kenobi should have known better than to go on an errand to Dantooine while he was supposed to be guarding the kid anyway.

Owen wondered about leaving his nephew with Anakin, as he had only met the man once before. And what glimpse of madness he had seen _then_ had been enough to scare the crap out of him. Now, the man was Darth Vader, the most feared person in the galaxy.

It probably wasn't a good choice to let him take care of a four-year-old; but there wasn't much he could do if Vader wanted to take Luke away. It was his right, after all, and Vader would undoubtedly slice Owen in half if he tried to stop him.

He could better protect Luke if he was alive, even if it was just to provide sanctuary if ever the boy needed it.

* * *

Luke clung to the black cloak like a lifeline, trying to make himself look as small as possible. Which wasn't really hard, because Daddy was standing in front of him and Daddy was huge. R-2 was also with him, rolling along behind them and letting out worried beeps.

He didn't get why Uncle Owen suddenly let him go with the big droid, and told him the droid was his Daddy, but he believed him. He would miss his uncle, though, and Aunt Beru too.

Speaking of Aunt Beru, she had been acting a little strange earlier. Uncle Owen had to drag her away from Luke before she let him breathe again. Then his uncle told him that if he ever got hurt, or felt scared, he should come back to the farm. He didn't know why his uncle would tell him that, but Daddy had already told him to go before he had the time to ask.

He peeked at the row of stormtroopers and Imperial officers from behind his father. They were all staring at him, although they didn't look brave enough to ask about him. Why would they be scared of a little kid? Or maybe it was his Daddy they were scared of?

He looked at his father and determined that this was the case.

"L-lord Vader?" One of the braver soldiers stepped forward.

Vader stopped. "Yes?"

"There appears to be a _child _attached to your person, sir?" the officer said uncertainly, phrasing the statement as a question.

"I am aware of that, Admiral."

There was an awkward silence, as the Sith refused to clarify and the admiral wondered how he was supposed to respond to that. Preferably in a way that wouldn't get him killed.

* * *

Vader snickered inwardly at Admiral Ozzel's discomfort.

He didn't dislike Ozzel. He was actually quite impressed with the man's efficiency; the _Executor _had arrived on Tatooine in record time after he had sent out the transmission. He had expected to be kept waiting much longer. But just because he didn't hate the admiral, it didn't mean that he didn't enjoy watching him squirm from time to time.

It was a bit unhealthy to enjoy other people's fear, the Anakin side of him thought, but the Vader side found it rather amusing.

"Dad?"

_Stang. _He had been hoping to keep that part a secret for a little while longer... But the ripple of shock from the assembled men more than made up for the lack of dramatic reveal he had planned.

"Yes, Luke?"

The boy fidgeted. "I hafta go potty."

There was a beat of silence.

A nervous officer saved Vader from having to reply. "Lord Vader, the Emperor demands that you make contact with him."

He had almost forgotten about the old corpse... the old corpse who had told him that he killed his wife. Since Luke was here, he had obviously lied. Which was just another reason to tell Palpatine to shove it.

"Tell the Emperor he can- -" Vader began in an uncharacteristic moment of petulance, before he remembered that he should be setting a better example for his son. "Tell him I will contact him shortly." he amended. The officer nodded and scurried off.

Best case scenario, Palpatine would want to make Luke a Sith apprentice. Vader was quite sure that there were only two Sith at any given time, but he figured that he had broken all the rules as a Jedi anyway, so breaking them on the other side shouldn't be all that different.

Worst case scenario, the Emperor would want Luke dead. If he ordered that, Vader was going to built a conductor to kill him with his own lightning, Master or not...

Hmm. Perhaps he should take the time to meditate before he contacted his Master, or they would have problems.

A small hand tugged on his cloak. "Dad, I hafta go _now."_

* * *

The Emperor blinked at his apprentice. Stared. Tried to process his words. Then blinked again.

"What do you mean you have a son?"

"I mean exactly that, Master. His name is Luke." Vader's voice was as mechanical as ever, but Palpatine could pick up the wry undertone that was more Anakin Skywalker than Darth Vader. He suppressed a groan. It was always harder to deal with the Light side of his apprentice, for the sole reason that the man's Force-projected thoughts became infinitely more annoying to listen to.

"...I see." he said, quickly regaining his composure. If the boy took after his father, he would be a powerful ally. "What do you plan to do with him?"

"I plan to train him, Master."

There was something in his apprentice's voice that made the Emperor want to ask for further clarification. "You will train him in the ways of the Dark Side?"

"Eventually."

_But I was thinking of potty training for now, actually. _

Palpatine started at the whimsical voice of Anakin he heard through the Force. He stared at his apprentice, flabbergasted- -although said apprentice seemed unaware that he had projected that thought- -for a long moment. He opened his mouth to demand an explanation, when he decided that it wasn't worth it. "Where is your son now?"

"In the refresher."

"Ah."

Well. That explained the potty training at least? He was about to speak when he noticed a small figure with a large Force presence toddle behind Vader. The boy started poking the armored man in the back.

"Dad! Dad! Dad!" It seemed that the child had inherited more of Anakin Skywalker than he hoped. Including his penchant for annoying everyone in the vicinity.

"Luke, go to the other room."

"Dad! Dad! _Dad!"_

"Would you like to talk later, Lord Vader?" Palpatine asked, already feeling a headache coming on. Force, it was like dealing with _two _Anakin Skywalkers.

"No, Master."

"Because I can." Really.

"Dad! What's that ugly wrinkly blue thing?"

Palpatine turned off the holocomm. Some things just weren't worth dealing with before his morning coffee.

* * *

**Let me explain why Vader is OOC.  
**

**The heat fried his brain. Temporarily. And 'Anakin' isn't fully repressed yet, so he's still a bit childish. There will be a reason for Anakin still being there.  
**

**He'll hopefully be more in character in the next chapter.  
**

**R&R Please! :)  
**

**So to those who have read this before, I've combined the chapters because ch3 was really short. And it makes my review/chapter ratio look better XD**


	3. Chapter 3

**It's_ almost_ Sunday in my country, but still Saturday. I'm bored and sleepy. You'll have to live with an earlier update. lol. XD**

**Special thanks to Scifiromance,**

**Lule de Zodiak, AAA, Coolkid, roses for marianne. Etta Ju, ILDV, Firecadet, Mike 3207, Nelianieki, Queen Naberrie, Above The Winter Moonlight, and ladyfaile15.**

**Review target for Ch 5 Saturday update************(instead of the usual Sunday)**: 55**. :) (A girl can dream!)**

* * *

_...Time goes by..._

* * *

Force visions were always varied. Or at least, the ones he had been in throughout the months were. They had used many places; most were nondescript, unfocused and generic, created only for the purpose of training. But this time, it was different.

"Isn't it beautiful? You can come here any time you like, son."

Luke stared at the meadow, his small mouth hanging open in awe. It reminded him of Tatooine, but instead of a rolling mass of golden sand, this place was green, green everywhere. It was peppered with small colorful things; flowers, he remembered from the datapads at Biggs' house. There was something cutting through the green; a large, clear pool of-

"Water!" he gasped. He had never seen so much water before. It was huge, shades of blue and green, sparkling in the sunlight.

"It's called a lake." A heavy hand landed on his head. "Do you like it?"

The boy nodded vigorously and looked up at his father, grinning. The man smiled back, ruffling his hair. "I'm glad to hear that."

_This place is pretty, but I like looking at Daddy better, _he thought. His father looked a lot nicer in the Force projection. He had blue eyes-_like_ _me!-_and brown hair- although he insisted it was blond, dark blond maybe?- and he smiled a lot more. He also talked about things that would get him mad when he was in the real world, like the Jedi and Old Ben.

He didn't wear that weird suit that made him look like an evil droid anymore. Although sometimes, if he looked really closely, Luke could see the black suit overlapping his father's frame, like a double vision. When he saw his father like that, Vader's eyes were always yellow.

"Where are we, Dad?"

He instantly regretted asking. The man's smile dropped, and a melancholic look took over his features. The meadow suddenly seemed much bleaker, its colors paling and the peaceful atmosphere slowly dissipated, favoring a sadder air. Luke shifted closer to him, lower lip trembling at the pained feeling suddenly emanating from their surroundings.

"Varykino," he said quietly. He turned to the palace on the edge of the lake. His son followed his line of sight. For a fleeting moment, Luke saw a beautiful woman with brown eyes leaning on the balcony rail, smiling and waving at them happily. Then she was gone.

Unnerved, the boy clung to his father's leg. He didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing when his mother appeared. His father never seemed to really see her, even when she tried to come near and talk to them. Luke knew that neither of them consciously created her in their Force projections. She was just _there, _flitting around and disappearing like a ghost in old Jawa legends.

"Dad?" he asked in a small voice. His father tilted his head slightly, acknowledging the query, but he still stared vacantly at the marble building. "Are we here to train?"

That seemed to shake him out of his stupor. "No, you've done enough training for this week. Besides, today is_ special_."

"But I haven't done anything," Luke whined. "I'm big enough to do training an' stuff!"

"Five years old isn't 'big'. You're not supposed to be doing anything at all at five." His father pointed out.

"But aren't you supposed to make the wrinkly blue man happy an' train me?" The child was confused. The wrinkly blue man was his father's boss, and Uncle Owen used to say that you had to keep Imperial bosses happy or they would fire _at_ you.

"Nope." his father laid on the grass and patted the spot next to him. "All we're going to do today is relax and ignore the Wookiee-sized piles of paperwork I'm supposed to be doing. Now come here. I'll tell you a story."

Luke scrambled to his father's side, using his arm as a pillow.

"Have I ever told you about the time in Cato Neimodia? No? Well, it was all Obi-Wan's fault..."

His father's voice faded into a low murmur. He hadn't realized how tired he was until that moment. His eyes drooped and he felt the Force projection slipping away, in favor of blissful slumber.

Just before they fell asleep, Anakin pulled his son close and whispered, "Happy birthday, Luke."

* * *

Darth Vader woke up in the exact same position. His son was curled on his arm- -the part that was still flesh and bone, at least.

It was a distinctly peaceful and cuddly picture; Luke's tiny form snuggled comfortably against his much larger father, seeking warmth and protection. Anakin would have cooed. Vader would have scoffed.

But the only thing the two of conflicting sides could think of at that moment, somewhat disbelievingly, was;

_My arm is totally asleep._

He hadn't even known that the stump could feel anything.

* * *

**Lulz.**

**Last scene is taken from Jeffrey Brown's Darth Vader and Son.**

**Does this count as fluff?  
**

**Padme's a ghost. OOooooOOooo!**

**R&R!**

**Warning: At some point, I will probably combine earlier chapters into one chapter because I think they're short enough to be one chapter, so if you see less chapters than there were before, rest assured, it doesn't mean that I deleted them.  
**

**Review target for Ch 5 Saturday(instead of the usual Sunday) update: 55. :) (I know that many reviews is unrealistic, but hey, a girl can dream.)  
**


	4. Chapter 4, Leia

**Special thanks to Scifiromance for betaing**

**Ergott, Shy Snootles, Sheila Snow, Boadicia for advice**

**Taboo22, Mike3207, Vampiric Bloody Rose, Nowa1, AAA, Above the Winter Moonlight, Guest, Shy Snootles, Meta1loves, ILDV, Sylviajohns, Firecadet, Dragonsflame117, FireShifter, Lule de Zodiak, Stuff lord, IDONTNEEDACCOUNTS, and Amy for all your lovely reviews. :D**

**Wow, guys. Wow. Thank you so much. I honestly didn't expect that many reviews. :D You're awesome.  
**

**Whelp. Saturday update as promised! (In my country it is.) :D**

**Review target for next Saturday update: 75. (Sorry for being so demanding guys. I'm trying to reach a certain amount before my birthday.)**

**Warnings: More serious than usual.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_She dreamt of a lake, and dreamt of a man who sat near the water._

_The man was far away, because she was on the other side of the lake and she knew he couldn't see her. She could see him, though, and she always watched him when she came to that lake._

_He was handsome, but his eyes were always so sad. She knew that he couldn't be older than thirty, but h____e looked old because he was grieving_.

_She didn't know why, but she wanted to comfort him. She wanted to hug his tall frame like her parents often did for her when she was sad._

_But there was no boat to help her cross, and it was too wide to swim. So she couldn't reach him, all she could do was stand and wait for him to see her.  
_

_He always almost did. He turned to her, and just when she knew he would notice her- -_

She opened her eyes and it was dark. She realized she had woken up and the man still hadn't seen her.

Leia started to cry.

* * *

The princess of Alderaan could do strange things. She could lift things without touching them and she could hear what people thought and feel what they felt.

It was odd, but no one knew about that other than her parents. They made her promise not to tell anyone because they said that people would hate it. They would hate her because they would be scared of her because no one else could do that. That's what her parents always said as they told her they would always love her as she was.

But she knew her parents hated it too.

* * *

It was a conversation overheard through closed doors.

"...dreaming of him now!"

Her father sounded angry. And scared. He wasn't often angry, but when he was, it was usually about the wrinkly old Emperor or the black-suited man who worked for him. He was always scared, though. Leia could feel that.

Her mother's voice answered, soothing and calm. (But scared, she could feel that too.)

"We don't know that, Bail. It could be a coincidence- -"

"Bantha fodder!" he yelled. Leia jumped. Bail never cursed, no matter how mad he was. "You know that's bantha fodder." His voice dipped lower, but it was still tight with fury and fear. "This is dangerous, Breha. If he knows- -"

"If he knows then he would already be here by now." Breha cut off.

"You're right," her father answered breathlessly after a long moment of silence. He laughed a humorless laugh in stark relief."You're right. Leia's father can't possibly know about her."

And everything Leia thought she knew was brought into question.

* * *

Leia was a stubborn child.

Every child has that spark of curiosity about them, as they are thrust into a different world from the womb they'd known for nine months. Everything was new, and everything had to be poked and touched. Every child always wanted to know all there was to know about everything.

That was why when the young princess found out that she was adopted, she was determined to find out everything about her real parents.

* * *

Imperial databases. They were the best thing she could use. They recorded everything about everyone.

She slipped a strand of her hair into the scanner and waited for the results. They flipped through pictures and records.

_Mismatch._

_Mismatch._

_Mismatch._

She worked on it for half an hour each day, longer if she thought she could get away with it. Every time, frustrating red _mismatch _signs flashed across the screens.

Until one day...

_Match._

Leia stared at the screen. Her heart thudded against her ribcage. Slowly, she reached out to flick the datapad.

_File encrypted._

She let out a shout of frustration, slamming a small fist to the datapad.

Then she was wrenched out of her chair and meeting her adopted father's angry glare.

"What were you searching for, Leia?" He said through gritted teeth. Breha was standing behind him, looking as though she dearly wanted to interfere but didn't dare to.

She averted her eyes. "Nothing."

His grip tightened painfully on her arm. She gasped. "_What were you searching for?!"_

"My father!" She blurted out in anger. He lied to her! What right did he have to be mad at her for wanting to know the truth!

But Bail went frighteningly still, and fury turned into fear. Leia started rambling in panic. "Y-you're not my real father! I heard you talking to mommy about it and- -!"

"He doesn't know," Bail's voice was barely above a whisper, almost like he was talking to himself more than her. "V-_He _doesn't know about you. And he never will. Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Bail!" Breha exclaimed.

"If my real daddy doesn't know who I am," her child brain turned the puzzle over until she found the chilling answer. "Then you kidnapped me."

She stared at him, waiting for him to deny it. Her horror increased when he didn't.

He looked at her, his face and voice blank. "I did what I did for the greater good. Your father is a monster and he can't- -"

"You're lying!" she screamed, a sense of betrayal and pain filling her chest. "You're a liar! _I HATE YO- -!_"

_Slap!_

Leia fell to the ground, tears stinging her eyes. Breha gasped, but made no move to help as she raised a shaking hand to her cheek and stared at her adoptive father like she had never seen him before.

Bail held his wrist as though he was restraining himself from hitting her again. His body was trembling, but his eyes were cold, as he said,

"I may be a liar and a kidnapper, but your father is a man who deserves everything he got, and more, for what he has done. You'd be better off believing he was dead."

Leia sobbed and ran from the room.

* * *

Leia was curled into a ball underneath her bed.

She screamed at everyone who tried to enter her room, and when her mother assured her that her father hadn't mean to strike her, he was just mad, she picked up a lamp without touching it and threw it at Breha.

She was left alone after that, and she sobbed and sobbed.

Daddy had never hit her before, and it hurt. It hurt more because she was scared of her own father now.

But he wasn't really her Daddy, was he? He was just Bail. The man who stole her from her _real _father, who was alive and didn't know where she was.

_Then where's my real Daddy?_

Clenching the sheets in determination, Leia Organa vowed to find him.

* * *

_Elsewhere..._

* * *

On Tatooine, there lived a hermit.

This hermit was odd and old. He spoke of strange things and had an aura of tiredness around him that made him look mad and ancient, although there were actually plenty on Tatooine who had seen more years than him. He was known as Crazy Ben, or Old Ben- -the senile man with a common name and a more common surname.

His surname, Kenobi, was just as drab and uneventful as the people who owned it in the universe- -all those named Kenobi were normal, everyday people. All except one; an exceptional Jedi who, during his prime, had gone by the name Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The name Obi-Wan, however, had faded into legend half a decade ago. The man himself faded into the background, changing his name and identity so thoroughly that the Jedi he once was, who was believed to have died during the Jedi Purge, was never even referred to in relation to him.

The hermit, Kenobi, leaned against the chair and stared at the stars. Had he been amongst those stars once, fighting for justice and peace? It seemed like a lifetime ago.

Perhaps it was; Anakin Skywalker was not the only one who had died that day. As he mutilated and burned the man he had considered a brother, Obi-Wan Kenobi died too. He died along with his friends, along with all the other Jedi, along with the younglings, and along with Anakin.

_Ironic,_ he thought, that though his padawan had turned away from the Light, the troublemaker had still managed to dragged Obi-Wan with him, like he always had. But this time it hadn't been Cato Neimodia or Naboo, this time Anakin had brought Obi-Wan to hell.

A living hell, for while it was the other who burned, it was Obi-Wan who was tormented. Obi-Wan who watched his friends slaughtered by his almost-brother. Obi-Wan who took the babies who were not supposed to exist away from a pregnant woman who was not supposed to be pregnant. Obi-Wan who had lived in fear for every minute, every second, since he first saw those accursed yellow eyes in the face of his padawan.

He had chosen to stay with the boy, and sent the girl off with Bail Organa. If he were honest, he would admit to himself that it had been a selfish choice. The girl was like her mother, and Obi-Wan had not known Padme well. He had liked her and respected her, but he'd never tried to befriend her.

The boy, though, he was like his father. His father's face, his father's talent, and what his father's heart used to be. It was entirely selfish and unfair, and probably a horrible choice as well, but Obi-Wan saw Luke as a second chance. With Luke, he would succeed where he had failed with Anakin.

The boy's aunt and uncle would not approve of Luke being trained as a Jedi, but Obi-Wan was sure that he would be able to convince them when the time came. Jedi were trained from a young age, but Anakin's child was impressionable and, judging by the way Anakin himself had turned out, the former Jedi Master knew from experience that he was not a good influence on children. While the boy was young, though, he contented himself with being a distant figure in Luke's life; the old man who was kind and helpful, but rarely there. He could train Luke when the child was older, and not so naive.

It had been a good plan, but then Vader discovered the child.

Obi-Wan had returned from a visit to Yoda to be told by Owen Lars that Vader had crashed on Tatooine and discovered his son. The other man had reamed him up and down for not telling them about Anakin being alive, but he hadn't listened. He had been too lost in his own mind, thinking of how the fates were evidently in a cruelly ironic mood, because Vader had apparently been searching for Obi-Wan on the one day when he was not even in the sector.

He had done everything he could to get Luke back. But it was too late by then, and the only thing he could count as lucky was that Vader had forgotten about his first objective in the light of Luke's discovery. The only thing he could do now was subtly monitor the child's progress through the Force.

Fortunately, it didn't seem as though Vader was interested in training the boy in the Dark Side just yet. Luke's presence was still pure and bright. But Obi-Wan could feel the changes. He could see the boy accepting his father's actions of murder. He could sense Luke's curiosity in the shadows that Vader wore like a shroud.

Not only that though, Leia was also involved. Obi-Wan could sense her sometimes, reaching out to Vader. She always got dangerously, heart-stoppingly close, but he would intercede before the princess could attract the Sith's attention.

Not for the first time, Obi-Wan wondered if he should have killed Anakin on Mustafar.

Also not for the first time, the former Jedi wondered if he could finish the job the next time they met.

* * *

**Preview**

* * *

Meanwhile, on the _Executor, _Luke Skywalker was asking something rather different to his father.

"Dad, where do babies come from?"

Darth Vader dropped the Admiral he was choking and cursed the laughing Wrenga Jixton to burn in the nine Corellian hells.

* * *

**Leia and Obi-Wan's here yay!**

**So, I decided to lump all the angst into one chapter to make it shorter. **

**R&R!**

**Review target for Saturday update (instead of Sunday) : 75. :) **

**P.S. Was Bail too abusive? o.0**


	5. Chapter 5

**Saturday update, as promised!**

**Special thanks to Scifiromance, **

**ILDV, Guest, Taboo22, Mike 3207, Nowa1, Dragonsflame117,Amenofis, ****Maleficent-darkgoodwitch2416, Queen Naberrie, Fireshifter, Darth Vadie(That's great. I'm honored.), Sheila Snow, golden greaser, Above the Winter Moonlight, Lule de Zodiak, BiP and sylviajohns for your lovely reviews. You guys are great! :D  
**

**Review target: 92  
**

**ANNOUNCEMENT: Next update will be on FRIDAY, November 1st, because it's my Sweet 16th. :D! **

**Happy reading!**

* * *

"And then Darth Maul leapt up and destroyed Qui-Gon."

Vader had to admit, he was rather impressed that the book had gotten it right. True, it was a history book, therefore it was supposed to be accurate, but he had read far too many wrong accounts about himself to trust them.

"I was there, you know." he said, closing the book. "When Qui-Gon Jinn died."

Luke stayed mute beside him. Vader turned to his son and noted the obvious fear radiating from him. Luke's eyes were wide and his fists were balled up in the sheets.

He felt irritated at his son's weakness. The boy was only five, he reminded himself. But he was quite certain that _he_ wasn't that cowardly at five. He was already podracing by then. Or had he been six?

"Did _you _kill him?" Luke asked shakily.

"No, Darth Maul did."

His son immediately brightened. Fear turned into curiosity, and Vader wasn't sure which he preferred.

"Why?"

"Because they were enemies." It was too bothersome to explain the entire story.

"Why?"

"Because Qui-Gon Jinn was a Jedi and Darth Maul was a Sith."

"Why?"

The Sith lord realized, with no small amount of trepidation, that Luke was at that age where asking anything and everything was fair game.

He felt a headache blooming.

* * *

_The questions ranged from awkward..._

"Hey dad!"

Grand Moff Tarkin stood up, looking livid. He pointed at Luke, who was toddling his way over to the officers. "Whose bright idea was it to bring his child to a tactical meeting?"

There was a short pause. Just when Tarkin was about to order the stormtroopers to arrest the child, a filtered sigh rang through the room. "Mine."

Tarkin jumped at the deep mechanical voice. He blinked at the owner for several seconds, not quite comprehending, until the blond child toddled over and started clinging to Darth Vader's leg.

"Dad, what's a Death Star?"

The whole room seemed to be frozen in disbelief. The Sith, either oblivious to or ignoring this fact, tilted his helmet down to look at his son.

"It is...A mechanical moon equipped with enough artillery to destroy entire planets."

Luke started tearing up."But that's evil!"

Vader wondered what he had done to piss off the universe.

_The Jedi Purge rings a bell, I suppose.  
_

And Tarkin could do nothing but stare as the most feared man in the galaxy tried(and failed) to get his son to stop crying.

* * *

_To annoying..._

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"...Now?"

Vader felt a strong urge to slam his helmet against the dashboard.

* * *

_To plain weird...  
_

"Dad, do you think I could have lots and lots of brothers and sisters out there?"

"...I sincerely hope not."

* * *

_Then it became too much._

"Dad? What was mom like?"

Finally, Vader had had it.

"Enough!" he roared. He picked up his son with ease and shoved him into the nearest person's arms. Conveniently, that person was Wrenga Jixton.

"Jixton here will give you all the answers he can." Vader seethed. "From now on you are only allowed to ask _me_ one question per day."

"But-"

"This decision is final."

* * *

"Dad!"

Vader continued strangling Admiral Ozzel (simply out of pure spite and irritation) and addressed his son.

"Have you decided the question you want to ask today?"

Luke nodded enthusiastically, his eyes shining. Vader suddenly felt dread filling him. Perhaps his son was going to ask about his accursed suit... or the Emperor... or, Force forbid, Padme again...

His son took a deep breath. The next words out of his mouth made Vader drop the Admiral and curse the chuckling Jixton to burn in the nine Corellian hells.

"Dad, where do babies come from?"

This time, Vader _did _bang his head against the nearest durasteel surface.

* * *

After Jix managed to drag him away from the wall before he gave himself a concussion, Vader located his son, who had wandered off.

"I will tell you when you are older." he intoned.

"Oh, no need, Dad." Luke beamed. "Artoo says he has edoo-cashnel videos."

Luke watched his father nearly trip over his own cape as he hastily turned around and stormed off to find the droid.

A few seconds later, he heard the yelling.

_"_R2-D2! You will not be showing my _five-year-old _son any educational videos on intercourse!"

Luke heard beeps that he had come to associate with a denial.

"Then what were you planning on using?"

_Beep. Boop. Beep-beep._

The toddler was fairly certain that half the ship heard what his father screamed next.

_"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU RECORDED MY HONEYMOON?!"_

Beside him, Jix doubled over in laughter.

* * *

"Hey Jix?"

Jixton wiped tears from his eyes. "Yeah, kid?"

"What's a honeymoon?"

The Corellian abruptly stopped laughing. He groaned. "Ah, kriff."

"What does kriff mean?"

* * *

_Tatooine_

* * *

Obi-Wan's dream that night was...not as dark as usual.

_"Like this, Luke."_

_He could practically feel Vader's wide grin as the man extended a gloved hand. Before him, a small astromech droid began to levitate, stopping when it was ten feet in the air. The droid let out worried beeps and whistles, obviously panicked. Vader put him back down, none too gently.  
_

_Beside him, a blond toddler stared at the droid with wide blue eyes. He raised one pudgy hand and tried to mimic his father's actions. Unfortunately for Artoo, Luke could only hold him in the air for a few seconds before dropping him in a jumbled heap_

_"You'll be doing this the whole day."_

_The droid let out a long, shrill whistle._

_Vader's malicious aura did not fade._

_"Serves you right."_

Obi-Wan woke up and blinked in confusion.

* * *

**R&R!**

**R2-D2 is a closet perv! XD Though to be fair, the poor droid probably didn't know what he was taping.  
**

**So, while Leia was having an emotional breakdown and vowing to search for her blood relatives, this is what said relatives were doing. **

**Review target: 92. :D  
**

**ANNOUNCEMENT: Next update will be on FRIDAY, November 1st, because it's my 16th birthday. :D! (You guys probably don't care, but I feel HAPPY! So I'm telling you!) I can, like, get a car! And take lessons from Anakin on how to perform happy parkings!**

**Anakin: It's easy. Crash your vehicle into the nearest planet/police station and hope you don't die. If you survive, immediately tell everyone that it was a perfectly legit landing. Best of luck, stay alive!  
**

**Me: Gee, thanks.**

**Vader: I hope for just the opposite concerning your life. And I wish for you to get many flames as well.**

**Me: You are so mean... You know, I can hand that sex tape over to Ol' Palpy.**

**Vader: I mean, pity this poor idiot and review.**

**Me: That's...better, yeah. Luke, your dad is a prick.**

**A car. So excited, guys.**


	6. INTERLUDE

**So, you may have noticed that there are less chapters... I combined some of them. 2&3, 5&7.**

* * *

**I AM SO SORRY GUYS!**

**As it turns out, I was unable to finish chapter 6 on time.**

**So as an exchange/interlude thing, here is part one of a short fanfic I was planning, Clone. **

**I sincerely apologize**

**Review target for Saturday update :120**

* * *

_**Interlude**_

* * *

_**Clone**_

_Summary: Unable to stand the suit any longer, Darth Vader uses illegal cloning technology to create a copy of himself with the aim of transferring his memories into the clone once it had grown. But unforeseen circumstances forced Vader to put his plans into effect earlier than planned. Unfortunately, the clone is a lot younger than he had expected._

* * *

Darth Vader hurried along the corridor. He threw his Force sense wide, determining that the facility was completely empty.

It wouldn't be for long.

He cursed, keying in the access code by the door. It was too soon. He wasn't ready yet.

But he was left with no other options.

Well, he probably could stay in this mobile junk heap of a life support suit, with artificial organs, four prosthetics, and a faulty respirator...

Yeah, no.

He nearly sprinted in as soon as the door opened, scrambling to the large tank that held his clone.

He felt a crushing sense of dismay. It was younger than he expected. He wouldn't be able to do much with it, other than being able to play innocent rather convincingly.

But it was probably better than this suit.

There was suddenly a massive spike in the Force. He whirled around, tilting his helmet skywards. He had twenty hours, at best. That was barely enough time.

Vader swore and reached out to the clone's still-blank mind, wrapping his memories, his feelings, his _essence, _into the copy.

Once he was satisfied, he began shutting down his life support systems one by one.

* * *

Cold. That was the first thing he thought.

The second thing was, _I have all four limbs! Huzzah! _

The third thing was that he had to get the kriff out of the tank and hide his armor before the rebels barged in.

He raised his fist, momentarily taken aback by how small it was, and broke the plexiglass with one Force-enhanced punch.

He realized that he had miscalculated a split second before the liquid burst through the opening, slamming him to the durasteel floor.

It hurt. But it was just a dull throb compared to the sharp pains he had endured for nearly two decades.

Wincing, he pushed himself off the floor. He scanned the area. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for.

Limping on jelly legs, he headed for the black armor that contained his dying body. He located the last switch that would shut down his life support completely. Looking at the black mask, he observed it for a moment, noting the way it was sprawled on the ground, one mechanical arm outstretched.

It brought back memories of another place, one with fire and lava and that hand grasping at a rocky crater.

_BetrayalpaindeathIHATEYOUtraitortraitorTRAITOR- -_

His hand hesitated over the switch.

Then he reached over and flicked the life support on.

As the machines whirred to life, he thought about his decision. His body wouldn't wake, as his mind was technically in this clone. The body itself would be little more than a brain-dead vegetable.

But it could still be useful.

And selfish creature that he was, he couldn't add his own name to the list of victims he had killed.

Not yet.

* * *

_"Whoa, kid!" the surprised rebel exclaimed, plucking Vader from his hiding spot with ease, much to said quarry's displeasure. _

_"Unhand me at once!" This was beyond humiliating. If he wasn't so exhausted, he would_ throttle _the man. The rebel simply clucked his tongue and shifted the apparent child onto his hip._

_Like a kriffing toddler._

_Force or no Force, this man was going to __**die.**_

_"What are you doing here?"_

_...But this could work to his advantage._

_Swallowing his pride, he willed tears into his eyes._

_"I-I didn't mean to!" he blubbered. Oh dear Force, he was going to have to murder the next __**squadron **__of underlings to vent. "I got lost, mister. A-and I couldn't find my way back- -"_

_As expected, the rebel fell for it hook, line and sinker._

* * *

Years had passed.

After he had hidden his original body and tricked the rebels into believing that he was just a scared, lost child, (he had barely kept from gagging at the indignity of it all), he had caused a distraction by blowing up every rebel ship in the area from by rigging them from the inside.

It was a minor skirmish, but it made enough talk in the universe to drag the attention away from him for a few weeks. Just enough time for him to reprogram his suit into a droid, with the designation code V4-D3R, which he had found hilarious at the time.

It wasn't easy tricking Palpatine. But his old body came in handy after all, having a significant Force signature that the Emperor could sense. Perhaps the other man was suspicious of something, but so far, he had yet to confront Vader- -or rather, the droid- -and all was well.

He himself chose to bide his time, hiding out in his own quarters when he was on the ship, and keeping out of sight whenever he chose to venture out. An easy task as, to his utter disappointment, his nine-year-old clone body refused to grow.

Oh well. At least it would be significantly amusing to watch the universe's reaction when a child was crowned the next Emperor.

* * *

Things had been going smoothly. Then the Death Star was destroyed.

It was one of those rare occasions when he was controlling his iconic black suit from inside like an oversized toy. Luckily, he'd been on a TIE fighter instead of his quarters when the behemoth was blown up.

Normally, he wouldn't have given it a second thought and let the droid deal with Palpatine's displeasure, quite literally on autopilot. He had never liked the Death Star or Tarkin anyway.

But the pilot who had destroyed the damn near indestructible space ship had an obnoxiously bright Force signature that intrigued him far more than he was willing to admit.

He resolved to find out more about the pilot.

Once he had stopped pinwheeling aimlessly in space, that was.

* * *

**RnR!**

**Review target for early update: 120**

**So I might not be uploading this as its own story ever...because a lot of people I've asked dislike this idea...  
**

**But please tell me what you think! (Even if you think it's crap!)**


	7. Chapter 7

**REPOSTED DUE TO A NETWORK ERROR. SORRY GUYS.**

* * *

**Sunday update!**

**Special thanks to Sanna Black Slytherin, TevilAG, AAA, dalulzing, laureas, Lule de Zodiak, QueenNaberrie, Above the Winter Moonlight, la Aira, ILDV, guest, and DragonsFlame117 for your great reviews.  
**

**Review target for Saturday update: 135**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**P.S. I got a new cover picture (with permission from the artist). It's Anakin. What do you think? :D**

* * *

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Ah, don't do that. Shhhh...shhh...come on, boy, shush!"

Boba Fett wasn't sure what to do. He had come onboard the _Executor _to meet with Vader, but since the man hadn't arrived yet, he decided to give himself a tour of the Star Destroyer to find something of worth. Instead, he found a tiny teary-eyed child.

_"What are you doing here?" he asked._

_"Looking for my daddy." the child sniffed. "I had a bad dream. I been searchin' hours."_

_Remembering his own father, Boba felt a pang of sadness. He looked at the child, who looked back at him with tears streaking down his chubby cheeks. Children were not allowed on the Executor, so the boy's father had most likely been killed in one of Vader's rages._

_He told the boy this as gently as he possibly could._

_The child's eyes went wide and, a second later, the wailing started._

"Look, kid, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Maybe he's not dead and we can get to him before Vader does, huh? How about that?" He tried patting the boy's head in a reassuring manner.

For a second, it seemed to work. The wails slowed down to hiccups. "Vader?"

Boba nodded. "I'm supposed to meet him in the hangar bay, so you might wanna steer clear- -Oi!"

The child had already took off at a run, heading straight to the hangar bay.

Boba cursed and ran after him. Cute kids like that didn't deserve to get killed brutally.

He managed to scoop him up just as they both burst through the doors.

The bounty hunter froze as he felt Vader's stare on him.

"Um," he scrambled hastily for an excuse, pressing the child closer to his chest. "This is my fault, really. He's one of my sister's and, uh- -"

He stopped when the blond boy was lifted from his arms by some unseen force. The toddler giggled as he floated straight towards the Sith.

"Wait!"

But instead of being strangled, the kid landed safely in front of Vader, who he immediately clung to.

"Dad!"

_...Say what?_

Boba watched incredulously as Vader turned his helmet to the kid, seemingly forgetting about the bounty hunter. "Luke, why are you here? Isn't Jixton supposed to be watching you?"

The kid, Luke, shook his head. "Dunno where Jix is. I had a bad dream."

"Tell me about it later." Vader turned towards Boba. "Fett, I have a job for y- -"

"But it was a really bad one!"

"Not now, son."

Luke's face scrunched up and the bounty hunter took off his helmet so he could cover his ears.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Luke..."

Vader went back to ignoring him as he tried to shush his son.

Boba Fett stared.

_Well, this is awkward..._

* * *

"A son, huh?" Boba said after a sheepish Jixton had taken Luke to his rooms. "Never thought you'd be the fatherly type."

Vader normally would have answered with something like, _There is much you do not know about me, Fett, _but this time, he just slumped tiredly and said, "I am not."

"So... how long have you had him?"

"Nearly two years now."

"And the press hasn't heard of him?"

"The Emperor has decided to reveal him in the upcoming Empire's Day feast."

"Ah."

They lapsed into awkward silence.

"Errr..Vader? My job?"

* * *

_Empire's Day..._

* * *

Palpatine was irritated.

He normally enjoyed festivals in his honor. The food was good, the media ate everything up and painted him in a glorious light, he got to sway or terrify his people... the list went on.

But this time, everything was wrong.

For starters, media attention was not fixed on him. They were instead fixed on the object of his irritation.

Second, Vader was not standing menacingly at his side as he should be, rather, the man was sitting a ways away at the table looking almost like a normal human being- -which greatly lessened his intimidating aura, and, as consequence, the Empire's intimidating aura as well.

Thirdly, the various Grand Moffs and higher ups were far less terrified of being in his presence than usual, especially when their wives started cooing...

Fourthly, a five-year old Luke Skywalker-Vader was sitting at the table next to his father.

Of course, no one had known about the boy beforehand. Vader had taken great pains to ensure that the boy's existence remained a secret from his enemies. It was actually Palpatine himself who had suggested that the child be revealed to the universe.

Lately, Vader had been less focused on his work, which caused morale to drop and the small pockets of resistance to grow bolder. Palpatine, running on caffeine and frankly exhausted at the time, had come up with the idea that perhaps the rebels would cower once they realized that there were three Sith at the Empire's head. Luke was quite strong for his age, after all.

Unfortunately, he had completely forgotten that the child was a chubby innocent child, and therefore adorable. Not likely to strike fear in _any_one. In fact, his heritage was more likely to cause a scandal.

As soon as Luke stepped through the threshold, the media had pounced on him. Once they realized he was Vader's son, the holocams went off crazily, snapping pictures here and there. And leaving the Emperor woefully unattended.

He had tried to keep the guests' attention on him, but the women were already passing the boy around and cooing at him, completely smitten. Their husbands were preoccupied by the fact that Vader had an heir.

Vader himself did nothing to help. He was fussing over Luke almost as bad as the women.

Palpatine scowled at his right hand man, who was completely ignoring him in favor of telling his son off for playing with the food.

The Emperor looked back at his own plate, determined to put Luke in force-damned _quarantine _after this. The boy was never going out in public again. He obviously carried some form of attention-grabbing disease- -

SPLAT!

The room went deathly quiet.

Slowly, Palpatine raised a hand to his face. He wiped the oatmeal away and glared at the assembled people, daring them to say anything.

None met his eyes. Vader groaned. Still holding the spoon he had used as a catapult, Luke giggled.

* * *

Watching from one of his hidden cameras, Boba Fett decided that he liked Vader's kid.

* * *

**Sorry it's not up to par. Writer's block :(**

**RnR please!  
**

**Review target for Saturday update (instead of the usual Sunday): 135**


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